Chicken Transport Food Safety Question

[MtView]

I have three spatchcocked chickens going this morning and I will be delivering them to two different places about two hours away from me when they come off.

The first place I need to go I will deliver it whole so I plan on putting it in a faux Cambro when it comes off and holding it for 2 -3 hours to get it where it needs to go. In my past experience holding chicken at home the chicken (or the aluminum pan anyway) will still be very hot to the touch in that time frame.

I need to carve the other two when they cool down a little before leaving home. I know that is an instant loss of heat so the faux Cambro is out for 2-3 hours. I plan to put this chicken in a foil covered aluminum pan after carving and put it in a cooler on ice for transport and will need to keep them there for the same 2 - 3 hour timeframe.

Is this as food safe as I think it will be or are there better ways to do this?

[fzxdoc]

My disclaimer: I am a Nervous Nellie when it comes to food safety, most especially when gifting food to folks who may not know about such things. So my goal is to deliver safe food to them and let them have the FDA's 4 hour food safety window to work with. Accordingly, given that perspective, take my comments with however many grains of salt you prefer.

My thoughts:

For food safety, the FDA says you've got to keep your chicken above 140° or below 40° if you're anywhere close to the 4 hour mark and, from what I have read, those hours are cumulative. So if you hit the 3 hour mark in the 40°-140° danger zone, your giftees can leave it in the danger zone an hour.

So the question you'd have to answer is whether it's easier to safely transport the chicken hot or cold. Transporting cold chicken on ice seems like a great idea but transporting hot/lukewarm chicken on ice can be iffy, depending on how long it takes for the whole enclosed batch of pieces to get into the safe zone from the surface to the very center of each piece. Ditto with keeping hot.

For me, I'd chill that chicken down in sealed bags, a few pieces per bag, in a 50/50 ice/water bath and then pack it on ice for the trip.

In topics such as these, there is always a lot of comment about whether the FDA guidelines are overkill, and I can't address those. Especially in feeding family, guests, or food giftees, I want to be super careful. If I want to take (albeit well-informed) risks, I'll do it for for myself alone.

Kathryn

[STEbbq]

I think Kathryn nailed it. However, just for reference, food transport containers can be very cheap and useful.

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/19177/insulated-food-delivery-bags.html

[Jerod Broussard]

Hit 165-F in the deepest part of the breast muscles (thighs typically get higher), keep the meat from dropping below 135-F for a considerable amount of time and you are good. Don't leave any empty air space in the cooler.

[MtView]

My disclaimer: I am a Nervous Nellie when it comes to food safety, most especially when gifting food to folks who may not know about such things. So my goal is to deliver safe food to them and let them have the FDA's 4 hour food safety window to work with. Accordingly, given that perspective, take my comments with however many grains of salt you prefer.

My thoughts:

For food safety, the FDA says you've got to keep your chicken above 140° or below 40° if you're anywhere close to the 4 hour mark and, from what I have read, those hours are cumulative. So if you hit the 3 hour mark in the 40°-140° danger zone, your giftees can leave it in the danger zone an hour.

So the question you'd have to answer is whether it's easier to safely transport the chicken hot or cold. Transporting cold chicken on ice seems like a great idea but transporting hot/lukewarm chicken on ice can be iffy, depending on how long it takes for the whole enclosed batch of pieces to get into the safe zone from the surface to the very center of each piece. Ditto with keeping hot.

For me, I'd chill that chicken down in sealed bags, a few pieces per bag, in a 50/50 ice/water bath and then pack it on ice for the trip.

In topics such as these, there is always a lot of comment about whether the FDA guidelines are overkill, and I can't address those. Especially in feeding family, guests, or food giftees, I want to be super careful. If I want to take (albeit well-informed) risks, I'll do it for for myself alone.

Kathryn

Thanks for this.

I just got back, but read this before I left. The information was very helpful. As a result I took the nicely arranged carved chicken, put it in ziplocks and buried it in ice. I also wrapped the whole chicken in foil and buried that in ice too. Both were served, as best as I can tell, within four hours of coming off the smoker at 165, but too close to the margins of four hours for my comfort.

Next time I will make the day before and make sure it is well refrigerated.

[fzxdoc]

Sounds like it worked out just great. Nice job. I bet everyone loved the chicken.

Kathryn

[MtView]

The chicken came out great. Thanks again. I'm also really big on food safety and never had to transport the food out of town before. It's probably a question I should have asked before I had the chicken on the grill .